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Electric vehicles (EVs) have been garnering wide attention over conventional fossil fuel-based vehicles due to the serious concerns of environmental pollution and crude oil depletion. In this article, we have conducted a systematic literature survey to explore the battery raw material supply chain, material processing, and the economy behind the commodity price appreciation. We present significant areas of concern, including resource reserves, supply, demand, geographical distribution, battery reuse, and recycling industries. Furthermore, details of the battery supply chain and its associated steps are illustrated. The authors believe the presented study will be an information cornerstone in boosting manufacturing and understanding the key components and materials required to facilitate EV battery production. Further, this study discusses the major industries, and their policies and global market share in each material category. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are commonly found in various environmental matrices and have received significant attention due to their toxic effects on ecosystems and environmental health. In this study, a specific magnetic composite material derived from MXene, known as phenyl-functionalized NiFe 2 O 4 @Ti 3 C 2 T X , was designed and synthesized using a simple method. This composite material was used to develop an effective magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) method for enriching trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in tea and coffee samples. The eluted PAHs were analyzed via gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Under optimal conditions, this method exhibited excellent linear relationships for 16 PAHs within the ranges of 0.001-25 and 0.0005-25 μg/L, with correlation coefficients exceeding 0.9979. The limits of detection for the target PAHs ranged from 0.1 to 0.3 ng/L. The effectiveness of the proposed method was evaluated by analyzing tea and coffee samples, and the satisfactory spiked recoveries of PAHs ranged from 84.5% to 112.6%., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The efficacy of sensors, particularly sensor arrays, lies in their selectivity. However, research on selectivity remains notably obscure and scarce. In this work, indoor pollutants (C 7 H 8 , HCHO, CH 4 , and NO 2 ) were chosen as the target gas. Following the screening of six oxides from previous work, temperature-programmed desorption/reduction experiments were conducted to delve into the origins of selectivity. The results explicate the superiority of NiO in detecting toluene and unveil the distinctive NO 2 sensing mechanism of WO 3 sensors. Based on the sensor array comprising these oxides, it can clearly detect low concentrations of C 7 H 8 ( S = 1.6 to 50 ppb), HCHO ( S = 1.4 to 50 ppb), and NO 2 ( S = 3.3 to 50 ppb), which satisfies the requisites of indoor air monitoring. Meanwhile, three machine learning models (Extreme Gradient Boosting, Support Vector Machine, and Back Propagation Neural Network) are employed for gas classification. The classification accuracies of these models are 95.45%, 100%, and 100%, while the R 2 values of the concentration prediction are 99.65%, 94.9%, and 98.04%, respectively, indicating the rationality of material selection. Furthermore, it can still achieve relatively high accuracy in gas classification (94.12%) and concentration prediction (89.36%), even for gas mixtures of four gases. Finally, an indoor air quality monitoring system is developed, which enables real-time monitoring of indoor gas quality through the Internet of Things.

Detecting parts per billion (ppb)-level nitrogen dioxide in high-moisture environments at room temperature without reducing sensing performance is a well-recognized significant challenge for metal oxide-based gas sensors. In this study, metal-organic framework-derived nickel-doped indium oxide (Ni-doped In 2 O 3 ) mesoporous nanorods were prepared by a solvothermal method combined with the calcination process. The sensors prepared using the obtained Ni-doped In 2 O 3 nanorods showcase an ultrahigh response, low detection limit, and excellent selectivity. Moreover, the abundant active sites triggered by nickel doping and the capillary enhancement effect caused by mesopores endow the sensor with ppb-level (20 ppb) NO 2 detection capability in high-moisture environments (95% RH) at room temperature. With the increase in humidity, the carrier concentration of the sensor increases, and the nitric acid generated by nitrogen dioxide dissolved in water can be completely ionized in water and has high conductivity. Therefore, the gas response of the sensors increases with the increase in humidity. This study establishes a promising approach for the development of trace nitrogen dioxide-sensing devices that are resilient in high-humidity environments.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) can be rationally designed with functional organic ligands to improve the electrochemical responsiveness of the electrode toward certain medicinal compounds. In this study, we synthesized a COF-Ni electrocatalyst material, which is formed by covalent coupling of electron-rich 2,3,6,7-tetrakis (4-formylphenyl) tetrakis (4-imidazolyl) (TTF-4CHO) and hole-rich 5,10,15,20-tetrakis (4-aminophenyl) porphyrin nickel(II) (TAPP-Ni). The reasonable electron transfer path design, the large specific surface area of the COF and the physical properties of ordered nanopores, as well as the Ni-N 4 bond as a highly active catalytic center, allow the COF-Ni material modified electrode to exhibit excellent sensing performance for acetaminophen (ACOP). The detection limit for ACOP is as low as 47.6 nM, with a linear range of 1-1500 μM, which is better than for most of the reported sensors. With superior interference resistance and good stability performance, COF-Ni is a highly suited electrode modification material for real-world sample detection, which provided a new perspective for application of COF materials in drug analysis.

Trace detection of bioactive small molecules (BSMs) in body fluids is of great importance for disease diagnosis, drug discovery, and health monitoring. Based on the chiral ligand of 4,4'-(1,2-dihydroxyethane-1,2-diyl)dibenzoic acid (H 2 L), an achiral 3D porous Ni(II)-MOF, with a trinuclear cluster based (3,9)-c {4 2 ·6} 3 {4 6 ·6 21 ·8 9 }-xmz net, was constructed under solvothermal conditions. Benefiting from its robust framework and excellent luminescent performance, NiMOF was endowed with remarkable capabilities in efficiently, rapidly, and sensitively detecting the 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) biomarker and 6-propyl-2-thiouracil (6-PTU) thyroid drug based on the spectral overlap and photo-induced electron transfer (PET) caused luminescence quenching response. Notably, NiMOF exhibited exceptional performance in quantifying 3-NT and 6-PTU in urine samples, yielding highly satisfactory results. Additionally, an intelligent detection system was crafted to enhance the reliability and practicability of 3-NT/6-PTU detection in urine, based on tandem combinational logic gates. This work not only heralds a promising trajectory in the development of MOF-based luminescent sensors, but also paves the way for the intelligent monitoring of BSMs in real bodily fluids.

The term supramolecular polymer has been applied to polymeric materials in which the individual units, i.e., building blocks-are bound to each other via noncovalent interactions, including electrostatic or hydrogen bonding, as well as metal-ligand conjugation. The building blocks are generally low molecular weight amphiphiles. Methods for preparing biopolymers based on non-toxic, metal-ligand conjugation have been little studied; however, they offer significant potential for tuning the response of biologically relevant macromolecules. In this communication, we characterize the assembly and morphology of supramolecular biopolymers in which the building blocks are low- or medium-molecular weight globular proteins-ubiquitin and Cas9-interacting via metal-ligand conjugation. In each case, the protein gene was expressed in cell culture with the addition of hexa-His/linkers at both the N and C termini. Divalent cations investigated were Zn 2+ and Ni 2+ . We observe in cryo-TEM imaging an absolute requirement for divalent cations for the formation of supramolecular biopolymers. In the presence of Ni 2+ , 1D assembled fibers are predominant, while with Zn 2+ , the more frequently detected structures are sheet-like. We use gel electrophoresis and CD spectroscopy to monitor possible secondary and tertiary structural changes in the protein building blocks during conjugation., Competing Interests: Declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The removal of nickel from wastewater is a significant environmental concern because of its potential hazards to environment. Adsorption is known as an efficient water treatment strategy and there is a growing interest in the development of new adsorbent materials providing rapid adsorption kinetics, cost-effectiveness, and high adsorption capacity. In this study, the feasibility of Mn 3 O 4 -MnOOH nanocomposites was evaluated as the adsorbent material for the removal of nickel ions from wastewater. The nanocomposites were prepared using a modified sonochemical method and characterized by XRD analysis and SEM images. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out under different experimental conditions obtained by varying solution pH, adsorbent amount, and contact period. Under the optimum adsorption conditions, the %RE value was recorded around 80% for 10 mg/L Ni(II) ions. The adsorption characteristics were investigated with respect to adsorption isotherms and kinetics. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were used to fit the adsorption data and the results indicated that adsorption of nickel ions onto nanocomposite could be complex and obey both monolayer adsorption and heterogeneous surface. Accordingly, maximum adsorption capacity of nanocomposites were calculated as 12.387 mg/g. Research works comparing the kinetic models of pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and Elovich revealed that chemical sorption plays an important role as the rate-limiting step in the adsorption of nickel ions., Competing Interests: Declarations Ethical approval This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors. Informed consent Not applicable.  Ethical responsibilities of authors All authors have read, understood, and have complied as applicable with the statement on “Ethical responsibilities of Authors” as found in the Instructions for Authors. Conflict of interest The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Dependable and sensitive glucose (Glu) testing in foodstuff and blood serum is highly desirable to prevent and treat diabetes. Electrochemical quantification of Glu has attracted great interests due to the advantages, including simple operation, higher sensitivity, easy miniaturization, ease of on-site and wearable detection as well as fast response. High costs and environmental dependence of enzymes pose a challenge to the electrochemical enzymatic biosensors. Nonenzymatic electrochemical Glu sensors are urgently needed to aid the Glu detection in human serum and food samples. To fabricate flexible Glu electrochemical sensors, designing suitable electrode substrate and efficient electrocatalyst is of paramount significance. Herein, the porous patterned laser-induced graphene (LIG) was fabricated on polyimide substrates through an efficient laser-inducing technology, and then used directly as the electrode substrate. Electrochemical deposition of NiCo layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanoflakes on the LIG surface was then conducted to achieve NiCo-LDH/LIG electrode as a Glu sensor. Under optimal conditions, this sensor displays a low detection limit of 0.05 μM. Two sets of broad detection linear ranges were found to be from 0.5 to 270 μM and from 0.27 to 3.6 mM, with high sensitivities of 9.750 μA μM -1  cm -2 and 3.760 μA μM -1  cm -2 , respectively. The enhanced performance was ascribed to the cooperative action of NiCo-LDH and LIG, in which porous LIG provides extraordinary electroconductibility and a high surface area, while NiCo-LDH offers numerous exposed active sites and outstanding electrocatalytic performance. Practical application was further verified during the Glu detection in human serum and food samples. This research confirms that the NiCo-LDH/LIG composite is a prospective electrode for high-performance Glu sensor and provides a way of developing nonenzymatic electrochemical sensors to analyze the Glu in human serum and food samples, opening new avenues in electrochemical sensing., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or relevant relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The economical and efficient removal of nickel nitrate from industrial wastewater remains a challenge. Herein, we developed an innovative electrochemical membrane filtration system that used a periodic polarity reversal process to adjust the acid-base environment near membrane interface for the recovery of nickel (II) and ammonia. The Ru based electrocatalytic layer could boost the selective reduction of nitrate to ammonia by generating atomic hydrogen, resulting in the precipitation of Ni 2+ by the increasing pH at the membrane interface. Then, the precipitation of Ni(OH) 2 could be effectively stripped and collected under the periodic polarity reversal process. In-situ interfacial measurements demonstrated that the polarity reversal process enabled a reversible transformation between strongly acidic (pH < 2) and alkaline (pH > 13) environments within a 200 µm range at the membrane interface. In continuous flow operation treating real industrial wastewater containing 96.7 mg-N L -1 nitrate and 135.0 mg L -1 Ni 2+ , the system demonstrated the capability to achieve 92.5 ± 2.6 % nitrate removal (with a recovery efficiency of 15.1 ± 1.9 g-NH 3 kWh -1 ) and 99.7 ± 0.1 % Ni²⁺ removal (with a recovery efficiency of 24.9 ± 2.4 g-Ni kWh -1 ). Additionally, the specific treatment cost was approximately $0.17 m -3 , attributed to the recovery of Ni(OH)₂ and ammonia. Furthermore, this system could deliver a significant economic benefit ($1.64 per m 3 ) for treating a high concentration real wastewater (331.5 mg-N L -1 nitrate and 1496.3 mg L -1 Ni 2+ ), outperforming traditional alkali precipitation and biological nitrification/denitrification processes. Overall, our study presents an economical and sustainable method for recovering valuable chemicals from wastewater containing heavy metals and inorganic nitrogen, potentially advancing cost-effective water treatment technologies., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Devising of materials that afforded dual applicability in decontamination and pollutant detection were still a towering challenge owing to the increasing flux of discharge toxic contaminants over the years. Herein, the NiFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles-loaded on cube-like SrTiO 3 (NiFe 2 O 4 /SrTiO 3 ) composite was fabricated by a two-step hydrothermal approach providing remarkable photocatalytic treatment and electrochemical sensing of noxious pollutants in wastewater. The material traits of the fabricated composite were scrutinized by myriad characterization approaches. The NiFe 2 O 4 /SrTiO 3 hybrid material demonstrated high surface area of 19.81 m 2 /g, adequate band gap energy of 2.75 eV, and prominent photoluminescence characteristics. In the presence of visible light, the NiFe 2 O 4 /SrTiO 3 exhibited profound photocatalysis capability to eliminate sewage effluent-bearing chlortetracycline hydrochloride (CTCH) with 88.6% COD removal in 120 min, outperforming other pure materials. Meanwhile, the toxicity examination of effluent, the possible degradation pathway of CTCH and the proposed photocatalysis mechanism were also divulged. More importantly, the glassy carbon electrode was modified with synergized NiFe 2 O 4 /SrTiO 3 (NiFe 2 O 4 /SrTiO 3 -GCE) was adopted for the precise quantification of Hydrazine (Hz). The NiFe 2 O 4 /SrTiO 3 -GCE obeyed first-order response for the Hz detection within the range of 1-10 mM: cyclic voltametric: limit of detection (LOD) of 0.119 μM with sensitivity of 18.9 μA μM -1 cm -2 , and linear sweep voltametric: LOD of 0.222 μM with a sensitivity of 12.05 μA μM -1 cm -2 . The stability and interference of modified electrode were also inspected. This work furnished valuable insights to yield a composite with the prominent S-scheme heterojunction system for quenching of charge carrier recombination and consequently contributing to the future realization into the domains of environmental clean-up and toxic chemical detection., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aerospace magnetic material scraps are abundant in cobalt and nickel. Sulfuric acid leaching process is an efficient method for extracting them. But it is a non-selective process, a significant amount of iron dissolves in the solution. This study focuses on the selective removal of iron from this solution using the jarosite process. E h -pH diagram of K-S-Fe-H 2 O system was established. Based on thermodynamic analysis, H 2 O 2 is used to oxidize Fe 2+ into Fe 3+ , achieving efficient and selective removal of iron from the solution containing cobalt and nickel. The optimal conditions are as follows: temperature 95°C, K 2 SO 4 dosage coefficient 1.5, seed dosage 10 g/L, time 90 min, pH 1.76, and endpoint pH controlled at approximately 3. Under these conditions, the iron removal efficiency is above 99%, while the loss ratios of cobalt and nickel are below 2%. The product is characterized by XRD and SEM-EDS. Results indicate that the product is jarosite ((K,H 3 O)Fe 3 (SO 4 ) 2 (OH) 6 ), exhibiting an ellipsoid structure with the mean particle size in the range of 0.2-5.0 μm. Temperature, pH value and seed dosage significantly affect reaction rate, particle size and crystallinity, and K 2 SO 4 dosage mainly affects reaction rate and the morphology of jarosite. The jarosite crystallization kinetics can be described by the Avrami equation, with an Avrami index (n) of approximately 2.5 and the apparent activation energy of 42.68 kJ/mol., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Metal-organic gels (MOGs) are a type of metal-organic colloid material with a large specific surface area, loose porous structure, and open metal active sites. In this work, FeNi-MOGs were synthesized by the simple one-step static method, using Fe(III) and Ni(II) as the central metal ions and terephthalic acid as the organic ligand. The prepared FeNi-MOGs could effectively catalyze the chemiluminescence of luminol without the involvement of H 2 O 2 , which exhibited good catalytic activity. Then, the multifunctional detected platform was constructed for the detection of GSH and Hg 2+ , based on the antioxidant capacity of GSH, and the strong affinity between mercury ion (Hg 2+ ) and GSH which inactivated the antioxidant capacity of GSH. The experimental limits of detection (LOD) for GSH and Hg 2+ were 76 nM and 210 nM, and the detection ranges were 2-100 μM and 8-4000 μM, respectively. The as-proposed sensor had good performance in both detection limit and detection range of GSH and Hg 2+ , which fully met the needs of daily life. Surprisingly, the sensor had low detection limits and an extremely wide detection range for Hg 2+ , spanning five orders of magnitude. Furthermore, the detection of mercury ions in actual lake water and GSH in human serum showed good results, with recovery rates ranging from 90.10 % to 105.37 %, which proved that the method was accurate and reliable. The as-proposed sensor had great potential as the platform for GSH and Hg 2+ detection applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Expanding the family of fluorescent metal clusters beyond gold, silver, and copper has always been an issue for researchers to solve. In this study, a novel type of cysteine-capped nickel nanoclusters (Cys-Ni NCs) with bright turquoise emission was developed. The as-synthesized Ni NCs showed aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) properties across Cd 2+ and various polar organic solvents. Concurrently, solvents with different viscosities were used to explore the principle of solvent-induced AIEE of Cys-Ni NCs, revealing a positive correlation between fluorescence intensity and solution viscosity. In addition, the concentration of Cd 2+ that induced the AIEE effect was reduced by nearly two orders of magnitude in highly viscous solvents, indicating the possibility of Cys-Ni NCs as a promising nanomaterial platform for Cd 2+ sensing analysis. Moreover, we propose a novel fluorescent sensing method for rapid detection of Cu 2+ based on the carboxyl group of Cys-Ni NCs coupling with Cu 2+ . Further, validation of Cu 2+ detecting methodologies in environmental water samples with the accuracy up to 93.94% underscores their potential as robust and efficient sensing platforms. This study expands the repertoire of fluorescent metal nanoclusters for highly sensitive and selective sensing of hazardous ions and paves the way for further exploration and wide applications in Cu 2+ detection in biological and medicine fields., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Traditional metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) preparation is generally time-consuming, polluting, and lacking specificity for enzyme immobilization. This paper introduced a facile, rapid, and green method to produce three MOFs subsequently employed to purify and coimmobilize recombinant glycosyltransferase (UGT) and recombinant sucrose synthetase (SUSy) using histidine tag (His-tag) for the specific adsorption of Ni 2+ and Co 2+ from MOFs. This method simplified enzyme purification from crude extracts and enabled enzymes to be reused. The results demonstrated that NiCo-MOF exhibited a higher enzyme load (115.9 mg/g) than monometallic MOFs. Additionally, the NiCo-MOF@UGT&SUSy demonstrated excellent stability and efficiently produced the rare ginsenoside Rh2 by catalyzing a coupling reaction (95.6 μg/mL), solving the problem of the substrate cost of uridine diphosphate glucose (UDPG). The NiCo-MOF@UGT&SUSy retained 68.97% of the initial activity after 10 cycles. Finally, molecular docking studies elucidated the conversion mechanism of the target product Rh2. This technique is important in the industrialization of ginsenoside production and enzyme purification.

Graphene (Gr) is a promising material for addressing microbially induced corrosion (MIC) issues that cause staggering economic losses, estimated at nearly $55 billion annually in the US alone. However, structural defects including edges, grain boundaries, and cracks can compromise its performance in aggressive biological environments. Owing to the technological relevance of nickel (Ni), its key roles in biological mechanisms, and the strong hybridization of d-electrons of Ni with Gr π-orbitals, we explore the effects of the key defects in Gr/Ni exposed to archetype sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB). Electrochemical and spectroscopy tests revealed that the grain boundaries play a stronger role than cracks. The edges and grain boundaries in as-grown Gr on Ni (dGr/Ni) aggravated corrosion by two-fold, while the cracks in the transferred counterpart that lacked these defects improved corrosion resistance by 2-fold. A combination of biotic and abiotic studies corroborated the unique roles of grain boundaries as sulfur reservoirs to promote the attachment of sessile SRB cells and subsequent redox reactions. Analysis of distinct biogenic products confirmed the role of grain boundaries on pitting corrosion. These insights can guide the rational design of graphene coatings specifically for biological environments prone to MIC.

Wearable, noninvasive sweat sensors enable real-time monitoring of metabolites in human health management. However, the commercial enzyme-based and currently nonenzymatic glucose sensor represents sluggish glucose oxidation kinetics and a narrow sensing range. Rational design of sensitive materials is significant yet faces a huge challenge. Herein, we construct a single-atom Pt supported on NiCo-LDH/Ti 3 C 2 T x heterostructures (Pt 1 -NiCo-LDH/Ti 3 C 2 T x ) as the nonenzymatic electrochemical glucose sensor sensitive materials for selective detection of glucose level in human sweat. The obtained Pt 1 -NiCo-LDH/Ti 3 C 2 T x with improved structural stability and enhanced charge transfer efficiency shows a low oxidation peak potential of 0.49 V, high sensitivity of 506.6 μA mM -1 cm -2 , a low detection limit of 0.035 μM, and long-term stability toward the glucose detection. The wearable sensor, coupled with a wireless transmission module and a signal processing chip, is used for real-time perspiration glucose monitoring during outdoor exercise. The result is comparable to that of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This research provides a new paradigm for designing a wearable nonenzymatic electrochemical glucose sensor, enabling noninvasive real-time monitoring of glucose concentrations in human sweat.

A new biomimetic model complex of the active site of acireductone dioxygenase (ARD) was synthesized and crystallographically characterized ( [Ni( ii )( N -(ethyl- N 'Me 2 )(Py)(2- t -ButPhOH))(OTf)]- 1). 1 displays carbon-carbon oxidative cleavage activity in the presence of O 2 towards the substrate 2-hydroxyacetophenone. This reactivity was monitored via UV-Visible and NMR spectroscopy. We postulate that the reactivity of 1 with O 2 leads to the formation of a putative Ni(III)-superoxo transient species resulting from the direct activation of O 2 via the nickel center during the oxidative reaction. This proposed intermediate and reaction mechanism were studied in detail using DFT calculations. 1 and its substrate bound derivatives display reactivity toward mild outer sphere oxidants, suggesting ease of access to high valent Ni coordination complexes, consistent with our calculations. If confirmed, the direct activation of O 2 at a nickel center could have implications for the mechanism of action of ARD and other nickel-based dioxygenases and their respective non-traditional, enzymatic moonlighting functions, as well as contribute to a general understanding of direct oxidation of nickel(II) coordination complexes by O 2 .

A layer-by-layer chemical bonding strategy was developed for fast in situ growth of bifunctional mesoporous covalent organic framework submicrospheres (COF SMSs) on the nickel-chromium alloy (Ni-Cr) fiber substrate via the ultrasound-assisted Schiff-base reaction for the first time. COF SMSs showed well-defined morphology, extraordinary high surface area (1211 m 2 ·g -1 ) and narrow mesopore (2.50 nm) as well as excellent stability. Furthermore, the resulting Ni-Cr fiber presented outstanding adsorption capability and improved selectivity for bisphenols (BPs). Consequently, an attractive SPME-HPLC-UV approach with the Ni-Cr@Ni-Cr LDHs NSs@COF SMSs fiber was proposed for rapid preconcentration and sensitive determination of BPs. By optimizing adsorption parameters, the SPME-HPLC-UV method presented good linearity for five BPs in the ranges of 0.02-200 ng·mL -1 with coefficients of determination (R 2 ) higher than 0.999. Limits of detection and limits of quantitation were obtained from 0.003 ng·mL -1 to 0.006 ng·mL -1 and from 0.010 to 0.019 ng·mL -1 , respectively. Moreover, the intra-day and inter-day precision expressed as relative standard deviations (RSDs) was 1.57-3.52 % and 2.65-4.38 % for the proposed method with a single fiber, respectively. RSDs of the proposed method with different duplicate fibers were 3.25-6.72 %. The proposed SPME-HPLC-UV method was available for efficient preconcentration and sensitive detection of five BPs from real water and milk samples. The relative recoveries at three spiking levels of BPs were achieved in the range of 80.00-118.8 % with RSDs below 7.81 %. In addition, the prepared fiber still exhibited satisfactory adsorption performance after 120 adsorption-desorption cycles., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Magnetic-fluorescent microbeads have been widely used in the multiplex detection of biological molecules. The traditional method relies on flow cytometry to decode and analyze the microbeads. Alternative strategies that employ immobilized microbeads on a plane and involve fluorescence imaging to analyze the microbeads have been proposed. Among these strategies, an integrated chip that controls magnetic field contribution using nickel powder pillars and captured microbeads has attracted great attention. Despite its unique advantages such as low manufacturing costs, reusability and high capture efficiency, existing research had been limited by the inability to precisely capture a single microbead, and the overlapping of microbeads has made multiplex immunoassays based on this strategy impossible. In this work, low-density microbeads were prepared in a microfluidic chip using IBOMA as the main monomer. The low density of the microbeads made the preparation of an aqueous suspension easier. An integration of nickel patterns, magnets and channels was carried out and demonstrated the capacity of capturing single microbeads precisely. Fluorescence coding further empowered this method with the ability of multiplex immunoassay, which was verified using three types of IgG, and a calibration curve for the detection of anti-human IgG was established using a sandwich immunoassay. These results show the promising potential of this strategy for biomedical detection.

For the sustainable advancement of industrial expansion that is environmentally conscious, harmful dyes must be removed from wastewater. Untreated effluents containing colors have the potential to harm the ecosystem and pose major health risks to people, animals, and aquatic life. Here, we have fabricated Ni or Fe modified with BaTiO 3 materials and effectively utilized them for Reactive Red 120 (RR 120) dye degradation under UV-A light. The synthesized materials were characterized, and their structural, and photo-physical properties were reported. Phase segregation was not present in the XRD pattern, as evidenced by the absence of secondary phase peaks linked to iron, nickel, or oxides. Low metal ion concentrations may be the cause of this, and the presence of those elements was confirmed by XPS measurements. The Raman spectra of the BaTiO 3 /Ni and BaTiO 3 /Fe samples show a widened peak at 500 cm -1 , which suggests that Ni or Fe are efficiently loaded onto the BaTiO 3 . RR 120 dye photodegradation under UV light conditions was effectively catalyzed by BaTiO 3 /Fe, as evidenced by its superior performance in the UV irradiation technique over both BaTiO 3 and BaTiO 3 /Ni. Compared to bare BaTiO 3 , both metal-modified materials efficiently degraded the RR 120 dye. Acidic pH facilitated the degradation process, which makes sense given that the heterogeneous photo-Fenton reaction was the mechanism of degradation along with BaTiO 3 sensitization. High-acidity sewage can be dangerous and carcinogenic, and conventional biological treatment methods are not appropriate for managing it. In the current investigation, it may be used to treat color effluents with extremely low pH levels. Additionally, the ability of the produced nanocomposites to inhibit the growth of twenty pathogens was examined, along with two fungi, fifteen Gram-negative Bacilli (GNB), one Gram-positive Bacilli (GPB), and two Gram-positive Cocci (GBC)., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The wounds, arises from accidents, burns, surgeries, diabetes, and trauma, can significantly impact well-being and present persistent clinical challenges. Ideal wound dressings should be flexible, stable, antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory in nature, facilitating a scarless rapid wound healing. Initiatives were taken to create antibacterial cotton fabrics by incorporating agents like antibiotics and metallic nanoparticles. However, due to a lack of multifunctionality, these materials were not highly effective in causing scarless and rapid wound healing. In this article, nickel thiocyanate nanoparticle (NiSCN-NPs) impregnated cotton gauze wound dressing (NiSCN-CG) was developed. These nanoparticles were non-toxic to normal human cell lines till 1 mg/mL dose and did not cause skin irritation in the rat model. Further, NiSCN-NPs exhibited antimicrobial, antibiofilm and antioxidant activities confirmed using different in vitro experiments. In vivo wound healing studies in rat models using NiSCN-CG demonstrated rapid scarless wound healing. The nickel thiocyanate impregnated cotton gauze presents a novel approach in scarless wound healing, and as an antimicrobial agent, offering a promising solution for diverse wounds and infections in the future., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Nowadays, exoskeletons have a place in many fields, such as industrial production, medical rehabilitation, and military. However, there are still many shortcomings in the existing exoskeleton, such as heavyweight and complex structures for active exoskeleton. The driving ability of passive exoskeletons is limited. To reduce the energy consumption of wearers, based on the characteristics of the semi-active ankle exoskeleton, this paper proposes to use NiTiCu-based shape memory alloys (SMA) as the energy storage source to improve the power density. Compared to NiTi-based SMA, the phase transformation process of NiTiCu-based SMA is more rapid, which can solve the response delay problem to a certain extent. The ankle exoskeleton uses SMA deformation to compress the bias spring. When the human ankle joint needs auxiliary torque, the SMA releases the energy stored by the bias spring and transfers the energy to the ankle exoskeleton to achieve the effect of assisting the human ankle joint. During the assistance process, a control system based on the SMA mathematical model is constructed. The above-mentioned ideas provide a new approach for further expanding power density and can be widely applied in the field of robotics. During characterization, this semi-active ankle exoskeleton can effectively complete the movement state of upstairs and walking, achieve an effective power of 180 N, and store maximum energy up to 5 J for the human ankle., (© 2024 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.)

To degrade phenol with the heterogeneous Fenton-like process and to compare the results, micro-scale zero-valent iron particles (mZVI) and nickel-coated iron bimetallic particles (Ni/Fe) were used. Oxygen was given to the system and converted to H 2 O 2 and •OH radicals. The changes in the properties of mZVI and Ni/Fe particles after the reaction were determined by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDX), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) before and after the reaction. For phenol removal with an initial phenol concentration of 25 mg/L, initial pH of 3 and air flow rate of 150 L/h, 3 g/L dosage and 360 min reaction time for mZVI, 1.5 g/L dosage and 240 min for Ni/Fe reaction time were sufficient. Under these conditions, 76% and 98% phenol removal and 39% and 47% total organic carbon (TOC) removal were obtained for mZVI and Ni/Fe, while 189 and 85 mg/L H 2 O 2 were produced, respectively. While SO 4 - 2 and PO 4 - 3 caused a slight increase in phenol removal efficiency in the mZVI system, these ionic species and Cl - and NO 3 - caused a decrease in the efficiency in the Ni/Fe system. The possible degradation pathway for phenol was suggested by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis and hydroquinone, pyrocatechol, maleic acid, benzoquinone and acetic acid were the main intermediates. According to the cost analysis, when using mZVI to treat 1 m 3 25 mg/L phenolic wastewater, the cost was $228.15, which was 1.45 times higher than the cost for Ni/Fe.

This study reported one-pot hydrothermal synthesis of 3D garland BiOI, spherical ZnO, and carbon nanofibers (CNFs) onto Ni foam substrate with improved supercapacitor performance and enhanced electrochemical properties. The synthesized nanocomposites exhibited high specific capacitance (SC) of 1073 g -1  at a current density of 1 A/g and excellent cycling stability with 88.6% retention of original capacity after 5000 cycles in 2M KOH aqueous solution. The findings highlight the potential of 3D materials for use as electrode materials in advanced supercapacitor applications due to their high energy storage capabilities., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The Cu content in discarded printed circuit boards (PCBs) is a crucial aspect, and employing suitable methods for the recovery of Cu holds significance in resource recovery. However, the selective recovery of Cu from an acidic leaching solution containing multiple metals such as Ni, Zn, and Pb poses challenges. L-cys contains the thiol (-SH), the amino (-NH 2 ) and the carboxyl (-COOH) groups, which may complex with metal ions. In particular, the reaction between thiol groups and metal ions makes it possible to recover Cu. In this study, we propose an innovative method using L-cysteine (L-cys) to recover Cu from the acidic leaching solution of discarded PCBs. The effects of Ni 2+ , Zn 2+ , Pb 2+ , Al 3+ , and Fe 3+ irons on the recovery of Cu were studied based on the concentration of these metal ions in PCBs. Adding 120 mL of 2 g/L solution of L-cys to 100 mL of 500 mg/L solution of Cu(NO 3 ) 2 achieved the complete recovery of Cu by forming precipitates. The Ni 2+ , Zn 2+ , Pb 2+ , and Al 3+ ions did not affect the recovery of Cu within the studied metal concentration range in the acidic leaching solution. However, approximately 20% of the Fe 3+ is coprecipitated during the recovery of Cu. This is mainly affected by the amount of colloid formed when copper precipitates in the solution. The interference of Fe 3+ on copper recovery can be effectively reduced by controlling the volume of L-cys to reduce the formation of colloid. Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses demonstrates the chemical action between the functional groups in L-cys and Cu 2+ . Compared with nickel, zinc and lead ions, copper ions have the strongest binding ability with (-SH), amino (-NH 2 ) and carboxyl (-COOH) groups. This result explains why L-cys can selectively recover copper from leaching solution. This method offers advantages such as fast reaction rates, convenient operating conditions, and enhanced selectivity, which is a promising avenue for the clean and efficient recovery of Cu from discarded PCBs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Water scarcity has been a crucial debate in recent years regarding the critical scenario of water pollution. The water body is continuously contaminated by organic effluents of textile industries, including pigmented dye pollutants. To tackle water bodies contamination, there is a need to develop an eco-friendly and efficient method for removing toxic dyes. Herein, ternary metal selenide nanocomposites of barium nickel selenide (NBSe-NPs) were synthesized by the solvothermal method supported by chitosan microsphere (NBSe-NPs-CM). Recovery of the catalyst was convenient by capping nanoparticles in the microsphere to maintain effective stability, biocompatibility, and well-designed surface coating. FTIR spectrum verified nanocomposite synthesis and chitosan microsphere (NBSe-CM) formation. SEM observations of nanocomposites and NBSe-CM indicated an average size of 13.78 nm and 253 μm, respectively. The presence of barium, nickel, and selenium elements in the NBS-NPs was verified by EDX analysis. The nanocomposites had a crystallite size of 15.73 nm. The photocatalyst exhibited a narrow bandgap of only 1.3 eV based on Tauc's plot. In addition, the synthesized microsphere demonstrated an efficient photocatalytic degradation (97 %) of Bromothymol Blue dye within 100 min under optimized operating conditions (pH of 6.0, dye concentration of 40 ppm, catalyst dosage of 0.25 g). The photocatalysis process followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics. The repeatability studies showed a slight decline in the catalyst's efficiency after four successive cycles. The DFT study shows that the NBSe-CM is energetically stable with more considerable negative binding energy, and the dye molecule interacts more strongly with the NBSe-CM surface. The findings highlight the exceptional characteristics of the newly designed ternary-metal-selenide-containing chitosan-microspheres for degrading dye contaminants from textile effluents., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Nisar Ali reports financial support was provided by A'Sharqiyah University College of Applied and Health Sciences. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In the background of severe water pollution, adsorption is a charming technique for heavy metal remediation. In this work, NiFe 2 O 4 decorated chitosan-graphene oxide (NFCG) was prepared by simple hydrothermal method for Co(II) remediation application. Adsorption mechanism was elaborately elucidated based on multiple evidences extracted from adsorption fitting (isotherms, thermodynamics and kinetics), spectroscopic test (XPS, UV-Vis absorption, fluorescent emission and Raman spectra) and the hard-soft acid-base (HSAB) theory inspection. Result shows, for Co(II) with initial concentration 200 mg·L -1 , NFCG with dosage 500 mg·L -1 reaches adsorption equilibrium in 24 min, rendering removal percentage and adsorption amount 96.87 % and 387.48 mg·g -1 , respectively. Owing to the efficient recovery enabled by paramagnetism, NFCG keeps adsorption amount 311.01 mg·g -1 for Co(II) after six consecutive cycles. Moreover, NFCG exhibits selectivity towards Co(II) under the coexistence of common interfering substances. Adsorption fitting suggests chemical adsorption based on heterogeneous affinity. Spectroscopic analysis discloses, CO, CO, -C(=O)NH-, OH and aromatic part contribute to Co(II) adsorption via electron donation, forming CoO bond. This atomic scale adsorption mechanism was substantiated by HSAB theory calculation. In brief, this work provides basic knowledge and technical support for fabricating high efficiency magnetic bio adsorbent., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Initially, four synthetic fluorescent polymers (SFPs) are synthesized from α-methacrylic acid and methanolacrylamide monomers carrying -C(=O)OH and -C(=O)NH subfluorophores, respectively. Among SFPs, ∼1:1 incorporation of subfluorophores in the optimum SFP3 is explored by spectroscopic analyses. Subsequently, chitosan is incorporated in SFP3 to produce five semi-synthetic fluorescent polymers (SSFPs). The maximum incorporation of chitosan in SSFP4 is supported by different spectroscopies. In SSFP4, strong electrostatic interactions among polar functionalities of chitosan and synthetic polymer favor resonance-associated charge transfer (RCT) from SSFP4-(amide) to SSFP4-(canonical). Finally, three hybrid fluorescent polymers (HFPs) are fabricated encapsulating iron-oxide nanoparticle within SSFP4. The maximum proportion of hematite (α-Fe 2 O 3 ) phase in HFPs is explored by spectroscopic, magnetometric, microscopic, and light scattering studies. HFP2 shows local/RCT/fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) emission at 393/460/570 nm. In HFP2, FRET, RCT, and ratiometric pH-sensing within 3.0-6.5 phenomena are explored by solvent polarity effects, time-correlated single photon counting, quantum yield measurements, alongside I 431 /I 460 vs pH plots. RCT and FRET emissions of HFP2 are utilized for selective sensing of Co(II)/Ni(II) with limits of detection of 4.990 ppb (460 nm)/4.353 ppb (570 nm) and 45.041 ppb (428 nm)/29.617 ppb (527 nm) in organic and aqueous solutions, respectively., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Nitrogen (N 2 ) conversion to ammonia (NH 3 ) in a mild condition is a big chemical challenge. The whole-cell diazotrophs based biological NH 3 synthesis is one of the most promising strategies. Herein, the first attempt of photoelectrochemical-microbial (PEC-MB) biohybrid is contributed for artificial N 2 fixation, where Azotobacter vinelandii (A. vinelandii) is interfaced directly with polydopamine encapsulated nickel oxide (NiO) nanosheets (NiO@PDA). By virtue of excellent bio-adhesive activity, high conductivity, and good biocompatibility of PDA layer, abundant A. vinelandii are effectively adsorbed on NiO@PDA to form NiO@PDA/A. vinelandii biohybrid, and the rationally designed biohybrid achieved a record-high NH 3 production yield of 1.85   µmol h -1 /10 8 cells (4.14 µmol h -1 cm -2 ). In addition, this biohybrid can operate both under illumination with a PEC model or in dark with an electrocatalytic (EC) model to implement long-term and successional NH 3 synthesis. The enhancement mechanism of NH 3 synthesis in NiO@PDA/A. vinelandii biohybrid can be ascribed to the increase of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-hydrogen (NADH) and adenosine 5-triphosphate (ATP) concentrations and over expression of nitrogen-fixing genes of nifH, nifD and nifK in nitrogenase. This innovative PEC-MB biohybrid strategy sheds light on the fundamental mechanism and establishes proof of concept of biotic-abiotic photosynthetic systems for sustainable chemical production., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

User-friendly in-field sensing protocol is crucial for the effective tracing of intended analytes under less-developed countries or resources-limited environments. Nevertheless, existing sensing strategies require professional technicians and expensive laboratory-based instrumentations, which are not capable for point-of-care on-site analyses. To address this issue, artificial intelligence handheld sensor has been designed for direct reading of Ni 2+ and EDTA in food samples. The sensing platform incorporates smartphone with machine learning-driven application, 3D-printed handheld device, and cellulose paper microfluidic chip stained with ratiometric red-green-emission carbon dots (CDs). Intriguingly, Ni 2+ introduction makes green fluorescent (FL) of CDs glow but red FL fade because of the coordination of Ni 2+ with CDs verified by density functional theory (DFT), concurrently manifesting continuous FL colour transition from red to green. Subsequent addition of EDTA renders FL of CDs-Ni 2+ recover owing to the capture of Ni 2+ from CDs by EDTA based on strong chelation effect of EDTA on Ni 2+ confirmed via DFT, accompanying with a noticeable colour returning from green to red. Inspired by above FL phenomena, CDs-based cellulose paper microfluidic chips are first fabricated to facilitate point-of-care testing of Ni 2+ and EDTA. Designed fully-automatic handheld sensor is utilized to directly output Ni 2+ and EDTA concentration in water, milk, spinach, bread, and shampoo based on wide linear ranges of 0-48 μM and 0-96 μM, and low limits of detection of 0.274 μM and 0.624 μM, respectively. The proposed protocol allows for speedy straightforward on-site determination of target analytes, which will trigger the development of automated and intelligent sensors in near future., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Shaomin Shuang reports that funding was provided by National Natural Science Foundation of China. Bianxiang Zhang reports that funding was provided by Central Guidance Local Science and Technology Development Fund Project. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Urease is a metalloenzyme that contains two Ni(II) ions in its active site and catalyzes the hydrolysis of urea into ammonia and carbon dioxide. The development of effective urease inhibitors is crucial not only for mitigating nitrogen losses in agriculture but also for offering an alternative treatment against infections caused by resistant pathogens that utilize urease as a virulence factor. This study focuses on synthesizing and investigating the urease inhibition potential of Biginelli Adducts bearing a boric acid group. An unsubstituted or hydroxy-substituted boronic group in the Biginelli adducts structure enhances the urease inhibitory activity. Biophysical and kinetics studies revealed that the best Biginelli adduct (4e; IC 50  = 132 ± 12 µmol/L) is a mixed inhibitor with higher affinity to the urease active site over an allosteric one. Docking studies confirm the interactions of 4e with residues essential for urease activity and demonstrate its potential to coordinate with the nickel atoms through the oxygen atoms of carbonyl or boronic acid groups. Overall, the Biginelli adduct 4e shows great potential as an additive for developing enhanced efficiency fertilizers and/or for medical applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

A lot of attention has been drawn to photo-Fenton-like catalysis among advanced oxidation processes for environmental remediation applications. Herein, we have successfully fabricated iron-nickel bimetallic magnetic nano-alloy (INBMNA) as an efficient heterogeneous photo-Fenton-like catalyst using the chemical reduction method and characterized by several analytical techniques. The characterization results show that the catalyst has a spherical shape with a mesoporous nature and contains a large specific surface area. The impact of various parameters was investigated and optimized to check the catalytic performance of INBMNAs and the found results showed that excellent photo-Fenton-like activity persisted under 6.0 pH conditions for the degradation of hazardous pollutant (phenol) under solar light exposure and microwave radiation power, respectively. Additionally, the exposed INBMNA/H 2 O 2 system provided continuous redox cycles of Fe 3+ /Fe 2+ and Ni 2+ /Ni 0 pair in the Fenton-active species for stable operation. The photo-Fenton-like activity was also performed to check the effect of different inorganic anions which significantly hinder phenol reduction. Besides, the steady performance of the catalyst to remove phenol was performed in tap water and river water. Free radical trapping experiments were tested to know the role of important radicals in the photo-Fenton process. Moreover, the mechanism and possible degradation pathways of phenol were checked. By cyclic degradation experiments, the performance of the catalyst is stable and almost unchanged and can be reused several times. This study provides a promising INBMNA/H 2 O 2 system, which encourages its widespread use in environmental remediation applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:, (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Carbon nanotubes supported cobalt nickel sulphide nanoparticles (nano-NiCo 2 S 4 @CNTs) were successfully prepared by a hydrothermal method as heterogeneous catalyst which can be used as an activator of peroxymonosulphate (PMS) for the degradation of chloroquine phosphate (CQP). Based on characterisation techniques, the prepared catalyst has excellent surface properties and structural stability. When different concentrations of CQP were treated with 0.2 g/L nano-NiCo 2 S 4 @CNTs and 1.0 mM PMS, the highest degradation rate could reach 99.86% after 30 min. Under the interference of pH, common anions and humic acid in the water environment, the reaction system can still achieve high degradation efficiency, showing excellent anti-interference ability and practical applicability. Furthermore, in the nano-NiCo 2 S 4 @CNTs/PMS system, according to the identification results of reactive oxygen species, the free radical and non-free radical pathway are responsible for the degradation of CQP, and the PMS mechanism activation was comprehensively proposed. Twelve intermediate products were detected in the degradation process, and the possible degradation pathways of CQP were proposed. This toxicity analysis demonstrates that the intermediate products formed during CQP degradation pose lower environmental risks compared to the original pollutant. In addition, after using the catalyst four cycles, the removal efficiency of CQP remains above 80%, indicating the excellent reusability and low metal ion leaching characteristics. Therefore, the nano-NiCo 2 S 4 @CNTs synthesised in this research has broad application prospects in activating PMS for wastewater treatment.

Porous nickel-titanium (NiTi) manufactured using metal injection molding (MIM) has emerged as an innovative generation of drug-loaded stent materials. However, an increase in NiTi porosity may compromise its mechanical properties and cytocompatibility. This study aims to explore the potential of porous NiTi as a vascular drug delivery material and evaluate the impact of porosity on its drug loading and release, mechanical properties, and cytocompatibility. MIM, combined with the powder space-holder method, was used to fabricate porous NiTi alloys with three porosity levels. The mechanical properties of porous NiTi were assessed, as well as the surface cell growth capability. Furthermore, by loading rapamycin nanoparticles onto the surface and within the pores of porous NiTi, we evaluated the in vitro drug release behavior, inhibitory effect on cell proliferation, and inhibition of neointimal hyperplasia in vivo. The results demonstrated that an increase in porosity led to a decrease in the mechanical properties of porous NiTi, including hardness, tensile strength, and elastic modulus, and a decrease in the surface cell growth capability, affecting both cell proliferation and morphology. Concurrently, the loading capacity and release duration of rapamycin were extended with increasing porosity, resulting in enhanced inhibitory effects on cell proliferation in vitro and inhibition of neointimal hyperplasia in vivo. In conclusion, porous NiTi holds promise as a desirable vascular drug delivery material, but a balanced consideration of the influence of porosity on both mechanical properties and cytocompatibility is necessary to achieve an optimal balance among drug-loading and release performance, mechanical properties, and cytocompatibility., (© 2024. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Biomedical Engineering Society.)

In this work, a platinum-nickel based nanozyme is prepared and used as a coreaction accelerator in the luminol-H 2 O 2 electrochemiluminescence (ECL) system to construct an ECL biosensor for dimethyl phthalate (DMP) detection. The PtNi/NC nanozyme possesses dispersed metal active sites, and the synergistic effect of Pt and Ni endows it with excellent catalytic performance, which effectively converts H 2 O 2 into more superoxide anions, and then significantly enhances the ECL intensity of the luminol system. The ECL mechanism is investigated by combining cyclic voltammetry and ECL with different types of free radical scavengers. Simultaneously, an "off-on" biosensor is constructed by integrating 3D DNA walker with enzyme-free recycling amplification for ultrasensitive detection of DMP. The biosensor based on PtNi/NC nanozyme mediated luminol-H 2 O 2 system and 3D DNA walker exhibits a linear range of 1 × 10 -16 to 1 × 10 -6  M with a detection limit of 4.3 × 10 -17  M (S/N = 3), and displays good stability and specificity. This study demonstrates the advantages of PtNi/NC nanozyme in enhancing the luminol-H 2 O 2 ECL system, providing new strategy for designing efficient ECL emitter and offering a new method for detecting phthalate esters., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declared that they have no conflicts of interest to this work., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Lanthanum nickelate (LaNiO 3 ), known for its high visible-light absorption, is a promising photocatalyst for water purification. However, the low conduction band position and high photogenerated carrier complexation rate of pure LaNiO 3 limit its photocatalytic activity. To address this issue, we investigated the synergistic effects of doping and constructing heterojunctions. A La 0.9 Sr 0.1 NiO 3 (20%)/g-C 3 N 4 (L2CN8) heterojunction was successfully created. In addition, various characterisation techniques were then employed to analyse the structure-performance relationships of these heterojunction photocatalysts in degrading organic dyes. Results revealed that at a 10% Sr doping level, the oxygen vacancy content was 0.68, which is significantly higher than that of LaNiO 3 (0.05). The increased number of oxygen vacancies enhanced the electron capture ability and improved the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers. Furthermore, the optimised L2CN8 (20 mg) achieved 81.2% and 73.8% removal of methylene blue (50.0 mL, 10 mg L -1 ) and tetracycline (50.0 mL, 10 mg L -1 ) under simulated visible-light irradiation (λ > 420 nm). Furthermore, an active species capture experiment confirmed the significant role of superoxide radicals (·O 2 - ) in the degradation process. Based on these experimental findings, we proposed a rational Z-type charge transfer mechanism. This study holds great importance for water pollution control and environmental protection., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The development of novel catalyst with high catalytic activity is important for electrochemical non-enzymatic glucose sensing. Here, iridium single-atom/nickel oxide nanoparticle/N-doped graphene nanosheet (Ir 1 /NiO/NG) with the loading of 1.13 wt% Ir was successfully synthesized for constructing electrochemical non-enzymatic glucose sensor for the first time. The morphology and structure of Ir 1 /NiO/NG were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, and XPS, and the presence of Ir SAs was confirmed by AC-HAADF-STEM. The Ir 1 /NiO/NG shows 65 mV lower oxidation potential and 3.3 times higher response current than Ni(OH) 2 /NG. In addition, Ir 1 /NiO/NG exhibits high sensitivity (70.09 μA mM -1 cm -2 ), excellent selectivity, low detection limit (2.00 μM), and great stability (91.53% current remaining after 21 days) for electrochemical non-enzymatic glucose sensing. The outstanding catalytic and sensing performance of Ir 1 /NiO/NG is mainly attributed to synergistic effect of Ir SAs, NiO nanoparticles, and highly conductive NG, which modulate the electronic and geometric structure of Ir 1 /NiO/NG. This work shows the promising potential of SACs in electrochemical sensing., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH, DE part of Springer Nature.)

The widespread presence of antibiotics in aquatic environments, resulting from excessive use and accumulation, has raised significant concerns. A NiFe₂O₄/ZnIn₂S₄/Biochar (NFO/ZIS/BC) magnetic nanocomposite was successfully synthesized, demonstrating significantly enhanced electron-hole separation properties. Comprehensive investigations were conducted to evaluate the impact of various parameters, including catalyst mass, pH, and the presence of co-existing ions on the composite's performance. The nanoparticles of NiFe₂O₄ (NFO) and ZnIn₂S₄ (ZIS) were found to improve the surface stability and sulfamethoxazole removal capabilities of porous biochar, while also demonstrating high total organic carbon removal efficiencies. •O₂⁻ and h⁺ were identified as the predominant reactive oxygen species (ROS) in NFO/ZIS/BC-4 during the degradation process. The degradation outcomes of sulfamethoxazole under natural sunlight and water conditions were consistent with laboratory findings, affirming the robust applicative potential of NFO/ZIS/BC. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to elucidate the photocatalytic mechanism and identify potential intermediate products. Additionally, the types of heterojunctions present in the system were characterized and discussed. After multiple iterations, NFO/ZIS/BC-4 maintained effective photodegradation capabilities through five cycles. This study presents an effective method for the treatment of antibiotics in aquatic environments, offering significant potential for environmental applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Immunotherapy holds significant promise for cancer treatment. However, the highly immunosuppressive nature of solid tumors limits its effectiveness. Herein, we developed bioactive zinc-nickel hydroxide (ZnNi(OH) 4 ) nanosheets (NSs) that can effectively initiate the paraptosis-pyroptosis positive feedback cycle through synergistic ionic effect, thereby mitigating the immunosuppression of solid tumors and enhancing the efficacy of immunotherapy. The acid-sensitive ZnNi(OH) 4 NSs releases Ni 2+ and Zn 2+ in the weakly acidic tumor microenvironment. The released Ni 2+ alleviated pyroptosis inhibition by inducing paraptosis and inhibiting autophagic flux. Concurrently, Ni 2+ triggered release of endogenous Zn 2+ within the cell through a coordination competition mechanism, further amplifying zinc overload-mediated pyroptosis. Interestingly, pyroptosis-associated oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress further promote Ni 2+ -mediated paraptosis, forming a positive feedback loop between pyroptosis and paraptosis. This process not only effectively kills tumor cells but also stimulates a strong inflammatory response, enhancing the antitumor immune response and immunotherapy efficacy. Overall, this study proposes an effective paraptosis-pyroptosis induction strategy based on metal ions and demonstrates the effectiveness of the positive feedback loop of paraptosis-pyroptosis in potentiating immunotherapy.

A convenient, non-toxic, and low-cost tin dioxide (SnO 2 )/nickel oxide (NiO)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocatalytic electrode was investigated, which can effectively promote the hydrogen evolution reaction and can also be used to construct a sensitive winter wheat cold-tolerant RNA sensor. Due to the good synergy and photocurrent generation between SnO 2 and NiO, which accelerates the electron transfer and catalyzes the hydrolysis reaction, the resultant data for the hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline environment of this material are very impressive, with cathodic current densities of up to 10 mA cm -2 . The marvelous heterostructures and photovoltaic properties form a signal amplification system, which enables the nanocomposites to have an excellent linear sensitivity in low-concentration RNA solutions. The single-stranded complementary RNA of the target RNA was immobilized on the surface of the nanocomposites, which enabled the materials to recognize the target RNA under enzyme-free conditions. The test results showed that the modified electrode materials had good single detection performance in a wide linear range from 0.1 nM to 2 mM, with the limit of detection (LOD) of 0.078 nM. The developed nanocomposite electrode has good performance in hydrogen evolution and winter wheat cold-resistant RNA detection, and is a bifunctional device with superior performance., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Manually bent, standard-of-care, Ti-6Al-4V, mandibular graft fixation devices are associated with a significant post-operative failure rate. These failures require the patient to endure stressful and expensive re-operation. The approach recommended in this report demonstrates the optimization of graft fixation device mechanical properties via "stiffness-matching" by varying the fixation device's location, shape, and material composition through simulation of the device's post-operative performance. This provides information during pre-operative planning that may avoid future device failure. Optimized performance may combine translation of all loading into compression of the bone graft with the adjacent bone segments and elimination or minimization of post-healing interruption of normal stress-strain (loading) trajectories., Results: This study reports a sheep mandibular graft model where four animals received virtually optimized, experimental nickel-titanium (NiTi) fixation plates fabricated using laser beam powder bed fusion (LPBF) additive manufacturing (AM). The last animal, our control, received a standard-of-care, manually bent, Ti-6Al-4V (aka Ti64) fixation plate. A 17.5-mm mandibular graft healed completely in all four animals receiving the experimental device. Experimental NiTi-implanted sheep experienced mandibular bone healing and restoration. The Ti64 plate, in the control animal, fractured and dislocated shortly after being implanted., Conclusion: The use of stiffness-matched implants, by means of plate material (NiTi) and geometry (porosity) enhanced bone healing and promoted better load transfer to the healed bone when compared to the bulk Ti64 found in the fixation plate that the Control animal received. The design technique and screw orientation and depth planning improved throughout the study leading to more rapid healing. The large animal model reported here provides data useful for a follow-on clinical trial., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of the universal and rapid autoclave cycles on the mechanical properties and surface roughness of nickel-titanium archwires following clinical use., Material and Methods: Thirty-six NiTi archwires (0.016 × 0.022 inch) were equally divided into a control group (Group A) and 2 experimental groups (Group B & C). Wires in group A were tested in the "as-received" form. Wires in the two other groups were installed in patients mouth for 4 weeks, and then autoclaved using the rapid-cycle (Group B) or the universal-cycle (Group C). All wires were subjected to 3-point bending test to calculate the elastic limit, modulus of elasticity, spring-back, yield strength, resilience and toughness. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used for surface roughness qualitative and quantitative analysis., Results: Group B showed significantly higher values of elastic limit, modulus of elasticity, resilience, yield strength and toughness than the other two groups. No significant differences were detected between groups A and C (P > 0.05). Group B showed significantly lower average surface roughness than the other two groups, but no significant differences were detected between groups A and C (P > 0.05)., Conclusions: The mechanical properties and surface roughness of clinically used NiTi wires were less affected by the universal-cycle than the rapid-cycle autoclaving. However, the difference between the effect of both autoclave cycles was diminutive., Clinical Relevance: The mechanical properties and surface roughness of the tested NiTi wires were not notably altered by clinical use and autoclaving., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Nickel-based resins have long been used in biochemical studies for the purification of His-tagged proteins, but their potential in the isolation of histidine-derived small molecules has not been investigated to date. Many agriculturally-important mycotoxins incorporate histidine residues, as do natural products from both plants and bacteria. Here, a highly-selective solid-phase extraction method is described for the purification of histidine-derived natural products using the insoluble nickel salt Ni 3 (PO 4 ) 2 . This led to the highly-selective binding and elution of two natural products, meleagrin and gartryprostatin C, from two fungal strains, Penicillium chrysogenum and Aspergillus sclerotiorum , respectively. A simple protocol involving binding, washing with water and methanol, and elution with methanolic acetate buffer, gave 65-75% recovery of both compounds directly from crude extracts of the two fungi. The procedure can easily be used as part of a multi-step isolation process in combination with HPLC to yield the purified alkaloids.

Most of published research on magnetic hyperthermia focused on iron oxides, ferrites, and binary alloy nanostructures, while the ternary alloys attracted much limited interest. Herein, we prepared NiCuCo ternary alloy nanocomposites with variable compositions by mechanical alloying. Physical properties were fully characterized by XRD, Rietveld analysis, XPS, SEM/EDX, TEM, ZFC/FC and H-M loops. DFT calculations were used to confirm the experimental results in terms of structure and magnetism. The results showed that the fabricated nanoalloys are face centered cubic (FCC) with average core sizes of 9-40 nm and behave as superparamagnetic with saturation in the range 4.67-42.63 emu/g. Langevin fitting corroborated the superparamagnetic behavior, while law of approach to saturation (LAS) was used to calculate the magnetic anisotropy constants. Heating effciencies were performed under an alternating magnetic field (AMF, H 0  = 170 Oe and f = 332.5 kHz), and specific absorption rate (SAR) values were determined. The highest magnetic saturation (M s ), heating potentials, and SAR values were attained for Ni 35 Cu 30 Co 35 containing the lowest Cu but highest Ni and Co percentages, and the least for Ni 15 Cu 70 Co 15 . Importantly, the nanoalloys reached the required temperatures for magnetic hyperthermia (42 °C) in relatively short times. We also showed that heat dissipiation can be simply tuned by changing many parameters such as concentration, field amplitude, and frequency. Finally, cytotoxicity viability assays against two different breast cancer cell lines treated with Ni 25 Cu 50 Co 25 nanoalloy in the presence and absence of AMF were investigated. No significant decrease in cancer cell viability was observed in the absence of AMF. When tested against tumorigenic KAIMRC2 breast cancer cells under AMF, the NiCuCo nanoalloy was found to be highly potent to the cells (~ 2-fold enhancement), killing almost all the cells in short times (20 min) and clinically-safe AC magnetic fields. These findings strongly suggest that the as-prepared ternary NiCuCo nanoalloys hold great promise for potential magnetically-triggered cancer hyperthermia., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Public health and environmental well-being have become increasingly threatened by the contamination of pharmaceuticals and heavy metal ions. This study focuses on addressing this critical issue by developing a novel electrochemical sensor for the dual-functional detection of acetaminophen (AP) and Cu 2+ . Utilizing willow catkins as a biomass template, a hollow tubular NiS@NSC composite was prepared by simple nickel salt impregnation combined with calcination and sulfurization. A highly sensitive dual-functional electrochemical sensor was thus constructed that can detect both acetaminophen (AP) and Cu 2+ . By examining its electrochemical properties, the sensor achieves an impressive detection limit of 1.33 pM for AP, with a linear range of 4.00 pM ~ 0.15 mM. The sensor can also detect Cu 2+ , with a detection limit of 1.04 µM, and a linear range of 3.13 µM ~ 0.66 mM. The sensor also exhibits strong resistance to interference, and good repeatability and stability. In addition, the sensor has demonstrated good performance in actual sample analysis, including the detection of AP in serum and Cu 2+ in wastewater. This excellent electrochemical sensing performance is mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of its unique tubular structure and highly conductive N, S co-doped carbon. This results in the sensor exhibiting minimal charge transfer resistance, an extensive electrochemically active surface area, and a high density of active sites., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)

In recent decades, researchers have focused on developing less toxic and more precise cancer therapies. Carbon nanodots (CDs) are among the most promising technologies due to their high biocompatibility, tunable fluorescence, and ability to facilitate photothermal and photodynamic therapy. This study explores the synthesis and characterization of two CDs conjugated with Salphen metal complexes, namely, CDs-PEG-M1 and CDs-PEG-M2 , through Sonogashira coupling. Their interaction with G-quadruplex DNA structures (G4s), motifs largely involved in cancer development, was evaluated using various spectroscopic techniques. The results indicate that CDs-PEG-M1 exhibits greater effectiveness in stabilizing G4 structures compared to the metal complex alone or nonfunctionalized CDs. This enhanced stabilization suggests that CDs-PEG-M1 could reduce the concentration of the metal complex needed for potential antitumor applications, thereby minimizing side effects on nontarget tissues. When tested on breast cancer models (MDA-MB-231 as a triple-negative model and MCF-7 as a HER-2 positive model) and on a healthy cell line (HDFa), the CDs-PEG-M1 conjugate reduced cell viability in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, showing greater potency and selectivity against cancer cells compared to virgin CDs and the free M1 complex. This synergistic anticancer effect, driven by the interaction with G4 structures and reactive oxygen species production, underscores the potential of CDs-PEG-M1 as a targeted nanotheranostic tool.

The growing demand for wearable healthcare devices has led to an urgent need for cost-effective, wireless and portable breath monitoring systems. However, it is essential to explore novel nanomaterials that combine state-of-the-art flexible sensors with high performance and sensing capabilities along with scalability and industrially acceptable processing. In this study, we demonstrate a highly efficient NiS 2 -based flexible capacitive sensor fabricated via a solution-processible route using a novel single-source precursor [Ni{S 2 P(OPr) 2 } 2 ]. The developed sensor could precisely detect the human respiration rate and exhibit rapid responsiveness, exceptional sensitivity and selectivity at ambient temperatures, with an ultra-fast response and recovery. The device effectively differentiates the exhaled breath patterns including slow, fast, oral and nasal breath, as well as post-exercise breath rates. Moreover, the sensor shows outstanding bending stability, repeatability, reliable and robust sensing performance and is capable of contactless sensing. The sensor was further employed with a user-friendly wireless interface to facilitate smartphone-enabled real-time breath monitoring systems. This work opens up numerous avenues for cost-effective, sustainable and versatile sensors with potential applications for Internet of Things-based flexible and wearable electronics.This article is part of the theme issue 'Celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Royal Society Newton International Fellowship'.

The exploration of artificial metal-peptide assemblies (MPAs) is one of the most exciting fields because of their great potential for simulating the dynamics and functionality of natural proteins. However, unfavorable enthalpy changes make forming discrete complexes with large and adaptable cavities from flexible peptide ligands challenging. Here, we present a strategy integrating metal-cluster building blocks and peptides to create chiral metal-peptide assemblies and get a family of enantiopure [R-/S-Ni 3 L 2 ] n (n = 2, 3, 6) MPAs, including the R-/S-Ni 6 L 4 capsule, the S-Ni 9 L 6 trigonal prism, and the R-/S-Ni 18 L 12 octahedron cage. X-ray crystallography shows MPA formation reactions are highly solvent-condition-dependent, resulting in significant changes in ligand conformation and discrete cavity sizes. Moreover, we demonstrate that a structure transformation from Ni 18 L 12 to Ni 9 L 6 in the presence of benzopyrone molecules depends on the peptide conformational selection in crystallization. This work reveals that a metal-cluster building block approach enables facile bottom-up construction of artificial metal-peptide assemblies., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

An extracellular matrix protein, fibronectin (Fn), was covalently immobilized on 316L stainless steel, L605 cobalt chromium (CoCr), and nickel titanium (NiTi) surfaces through an 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) self-assembled monolayer (SAM) pre-formed on these surfaces. Polarization modulation infrared reflection adsorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS) confirmed the presence of Fn on the surfaces. The Fn monolayer attached to the SAM was found to be stable under fluid shear stress. Deconvolution of the Fn amide I band indicated that the secondary structure of Fn changes significantly upon immobilization to the SAM-functionalized metal substrate. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis revealed that the spacing between Fn molecules on a modified commercial stent surface is approximately 66 nm, which has been reported to be the most appropriate spacing for cell/surface interactions.